Meet Gina.

She’s the manager of her company’s web development team, all of whom are highly qualified, experienced developers.  

But somehow, her team is still hitting snags.  

Projects take longer than they should, partly due to communication issues. Expectations aren’t clearly stated, and tasks often fall through the cracks or have to be redone.  

Even when a project gets finished, follow-up decisions take a long time, bottlenecking the projects’ progress.

Team members feel like their hands are tied, and frustrations are running high.  

The big disconnect 

If you’re a SaaS provider, you might be thinking, “This is exactly what our software can fix. Gina’s team needs a collaborative visualization tool to clearly define projects and processes and get her team on the same page. If only they had our software, they’d be running like a well-oiled machine.”   

But here’s the kicker: Gina’s team already has your software. 

Clearly, there’s a disconnect here. Gina’s team has the tools they need to be successful, but they’re not making the most of your software, so they’re running into the same old problems.  

And when renewal time rolls around, they’re going to question whether they should continue to pay for your software.  

Retention intervention 

If this scenario sounds familiar, you’re not alone—customer retention is an issue for all SaaS vendors.  

You have a fantastic product, one that can make a world of difference. But getting a customer to buy your product is only the first step. Unless they’re actively using your software and making the connection between their tools and their problems, your customers won’t keep paying for your product. 

If you want to reduce churn and build a loyal customer base that will keep coming back for more, you need to help users—and not just the execs with purchasing power—see the value of your tools.  

The ‘aha’ moment 

The aha moment (black text on forest green background)

You may already have a learning program or great customer success managers. But to get your SaaS customers completely on board, you'll need to zero in on two things:  

  1. User adoption
  2. User evangelization 

User adoption 

Honestly, we could talk about this all day—here at BrainStorm, user adoption is kind of our thing. If you want some direction on this, check out these related articles:  

Many think that tech adoption only means users logging in to a SaaS product. Of course, it's much more. Users need to fully adopt their technology before SaaS companies can boost their retention rates.

In a nutshell, you need users to get excited about fully engaging with your technology. 

But how? 

User evangelization 

Speech bubbles containing images of smiling black woman, smiling girl with pink sunglasses, and smiling man wearing headphones

When it comes to SaaS churn and low retention rates, evangelization is woefully undervalued by most companies.  

The long and the short of it is this: you need to connect the dots between users’ pain points and your software. You need to give them an ‘aha’ moment.  

Let's say your product includes a whiteboarding tool. What does this tool really mean to users? It’s not just a handy feature to use during brainstorming sessions; it’s a way to streamline processes, identify roadblocks before they happen, and ensure their projects are delivered on time and under budget.   

To get users fully invested in their technology, it's time for a little help from BrainStorm. 

With a platform like BrainStorm QuickHelp™, not only can customers learn how to use your software, but they can also find use cases and pro tips that show what they can accomplish when they use your tools to the fullest.  

Because at the end of the day, users aren’t looking for another tool. They’re looking to accomplish specific business objectives, and they need technology that will get them there. Your job is to convince them that your SaaS will get them where they want to go.   

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